England 391 (Root 180*, Siraj 4/94) lead India 364 (Rahul 129, Anderson 5/62) by 27 runs
As an England supporter I have to say something about Joe Root. At the end of England’s first innings Root was left standing again on 180 not out. I have said for several years that he is without doubt Engand’s best ODI batter of all time. Now Root must be one of England’s very best test batters of all time as well.
At one point Root was criticised because he kept getting out in the 60s. I was one of those people being critical. Then a couple of years ago he seemed to be turning into a player that got massive scores or nothing (this also happened to Sir Alistair Cook).
In the last couple of years I became worried that Root had lost some of his ‘busy-ness’ at the crease in search of the big scores. During the home series in 2020 Root struggled, but it was a unique year of course.
In 2021 Root has managed to combine that ‘busy’ player who scored all those 60s with a ruthlessness that is leading to big scores. He just keeps going and going. In the first 3 test matches of the year against Sri Lanka and India he lifted himself to a new level with those massive scores.
Against New Zealand Root seemed to be weighed down by the woes of the world but in this India series has added that cheerfulness to his batting. Root is always grinning. When he plays and misses he has this little grin that must drive bowlers mad. Even in those slightly heated conversations he will grin away.
I never played cricket at any level, but I am sure Root’s secret is technical. He has the most wonderful technique. Watching the Day 2 highlights I could not help but contrast Root and Rory Burns. Burns never stops moving, though ends up up in the right sort of place (why does he not start in the right place?). Root just stands still, but perfectly lined up.
In this innings at Lords Root went past Graham Gooch and into second place in England’s list of leading run scorers, behind only Cook. It took me back to the early 1990s when I first started to get into cricket. At that time, England had one truly world class batter in Gooch. When Gooch was in, England were in the game. In 2021 it feels like Root is filling that Graham Gooch role.
That early 90s England team was not a bad one but not a brilliant one either, but Gooch did actually have some help with Mike Athterton, Alec Stewart and Robin Smith in the team (that England could have those 4 and still be a ‘middle of the road team’ says a lot about the quality of bowling in the 90s).
In 2021 it feels like Root needs some help. He cannot continue to carry the entire batting unit on his own. Atherton and Stewart talk so often about how lucky they were to open the batting with Gooch. I am sure they learned more from standing opposite Gooch than they ever learned in the nets.
It is high time that the likes of Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Jos Buttler learn a bit more from Root. He is an inspiration both on and off the field (he sets a wonderful example) and, with Jimmy Anderson, is just about keeping England in this series. Somebody help him please!
Cricketed 